2024 Call for Entries — Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs 35

Calling all rug hookers! We invite you to enter your best hooked piece completed in 2023 or 2024 in Celebration of Hand-Hooked Rugs 35. We welcome all styles and sizes, from primitive to fine shading, from traditional to contemporary. Entries are impartially and anonymously evaluated by a panel of four qualified judges from the rug hooking community. Rugs are judged on technique, color plan, and interpretation of design. Each rug is judged on a numerical scale on its own merit, independent of all other entries. Entries are due by November 30, 2024. Finalists will be featured in Celebration 35, published in August 2025. 

Celebration highlights the artistry, fine craftsmanship, and astonishing diversity of hand-hooked rugs produced in the past year.

Have questions about Celebration? Contact us at celebration@rughookingmagazine.com. 

A Special Note About Copyright: If your entry is an adaptation of someone else's design, include with your entry written permission from the original artist or publisher that permitted you to use the design in a hooked piece. Copying a design directly, even for your own use, is a violation of copyright.

RETURNING FOR CELEBRATION 35
Rug Hooking magazine is awarding prizes for the three top rugs. 

• 1^st place - $500
• 2^nd place - $250
• 3^rd place - $100

IMAGE REQUIREMENTS FOR SUBMISSION: 4 PHOTOS

Remember, the quality of your rug can be seen by the judges—and reproduced accurately in the magazine—only if you provide high-quality images of your work. Once your rug is completed, it deserves to be presented as well as possible. Please follow these guidelines carefully.
 

For tips on how to photograph your rug most effectively, visit articles How to Photograph Your Rug for Celebration Part 1 and Part 2. 

• Each image must be at least 2400 x 3000 pixels in dimension and at least 4 MBs (megabytes) in terms of file size.
• One image must be a full shot of the front of the rug. Please make sure you can see all edges of your rug in this photo.
• Two images must be close-ups of two different details. (No names or initials should be visible in the close-up shots.)
• One image must be a close-up of the back of the rug, clearly showing the finished edge. Please don't have your name or initials showing on the back of your piece.
• If you are submitting on a CD or flash drive, name each image file in the following format: Last Name + Rug Title + View (e.g., Smith-Fox-Front, Smith-Fox-Detail-1, Smith-Fox-Detail-2, Smith-Fox-Back). (These names will be given to your photos automatically when you upload them online.)

HOW TO ENTER

To enter your rug, follow these simple rules:

• Limit of one (1) entry per person. You must create a Rug Hooking account in order to submit your entry.
  Please note: If you are submitting a rug on someone else's behalf, you'll need to create a separate account at www.rughookingmagazine.com.  
• Enter online by clicking the Click to Submit Your Rug button below. Follow the instructions for electronic submissions.
• Or complete the entry form in the September/October 2024 or November/December 2024 issue. Entries must be postmarked by November 30, 2024. 
• The rug must have been completed in 2023 or 2024, regardless of when you started it. You may enter a rug that has been entered in other competitions, but group entries are NOT permissible.
• Submission of an entry serves as a release that Rug Hooking and its publisher may publish photographs of the rug in the future, with proper credit given to the artist. This may include promotional materials, online or in print, including the Celebration book, in RHM, on RHM products and RHM social media and eNewsletters.
• You will receive an email from celebration@rughookingmagazine.com when your entry has been received and reviewed. 

TIPS FOR ENTRY

• We recommend entering your rug using a desktop or laptop with the latest version of your chosen browser installed.
• The entry form times out after a certain period of time, but it will save what you've written after each text screen. There are two long-form answer boxes: one to describe your rug and one that asks a bit about you. It's helpful to have these typed out before entering your rug to make sure your entry doesn't time out.
• There are two screens in the entry form where you can upload items. One screen is for Adaptation rugs ONLY to upload proof of permission. The other screen is where ALL entrants will upload the images of their rug. Please read the instructions in the entry form carefully to ensure you're uploading your images on the correct screen.
• If you know you'd like to enter your rug, don't wait! We recommend entering your rug well ahead of the deadline, so there's plenty of time for you to ask questions or help out with any technical issues before the deadline.

CATEGORY DEFINITIONS
Note: Some rugs may not fall neatly into one category. Use your judgement to select the category that best represents your rug.

Primitive: If your rug is a primitive rug, you may enter it in this category INSTEAD of one of the other three categories. Primitive suggests simplicity in all areas: design, materials, and technique. It usually means wider cut, naive or simple design with little or no shading, exaggerated scale or unrealistic proportion. Think folk art. In a pictorial rug, think Grandma Moses.

Commercial: If you purchased the pattern, enter the rug in the commercial category. Even if you adapted the pattern, if the rug is substantially based on a commercial pattern and design, it is a commercial rug.

Adaptation: If your rug is inspired by someone else's design in a different medium (for example, a painting, a postcard, a photograph, etc.) it is an adaptation. Be sure to credit the original inspiration and provide written documentation that you have permission to adapt someone else's work in this way.

Original: If your rug is based on your original content and design idea, it is an original design. Carefully consider who owns the copyright; if you hook a design based on a photograph that YOU took, the rug is your original design. If you hook a rug based on a photo that someone else took, that other person owns the copyright, and you should classify your rug as an adaptation.

Thanks

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